Back to work(place): As employers beckon, telecommuters grow more entrenched at home

March 23, 2022 – With work-from-home orders a thing of the past, Canadian employers are getting more serious about calling their employees back to the office.

Banks have “led the pack”. CIBC brought employees back starting this week as part of a hybrid model, while last week HSBC opened two new offices in Vancouver and Toronto with 50 per cent capacity.

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, finds workers from home reluctant to return. More than half (56%) of those currently working from home say they would look for a new job if they were asked to return to the office, including almost one-quarter (23%) who say they would quit on the spot.
read more→

New Program Matches Buyers to Purchase Homes Together

High housing costs lead to a matchmaking service for joint ownership

Peter Mitham, Mar 18, 2022

A year ago, Elizabeth Wilcox thought she would be priced out of the Vancouver housing market. With prices rising after the initial restrictions associated with COVID-19 lifted, she and her husband found themselves scrambling to find anything within their budget.
read more→

40% of Vancouver’s Generation Z Adults Expect 1st Home to be Co-Owned, Real Estate Survey Suggests

Published: Alyse Kotyk, CTV News Vancouver, March 9, 2022

More than a third of Generation Z adults living in Vancouver expect they’ll co-own their first home with someone else like friends or family, a recent survey suggests.

The Generation Z Report, released by Sotheby’s International Real Estate and the Mustel Group Wednesday, looks at how that age group is preparing for home ownership across the country. It suggests 37 per cent of Canadian Generation Z adults, which included those aged 18 to 28, living in urban areas expect they’ll be able to purchase their first home in less than five years.

78% of Vancouver residents calling for more housing options and density: survey

Amidst a housing affordability crisis, the vast majority of respondents in an open public survey conducted by the City of Vancouver have unsurprisingly expressed a need for more housing choices in all neighbourhoods.

The survey in Fall 2021 was part of the Vancouver Plan’s phase three public consultation on the emerging directions and concepts for determining the future citywide plan.

Listings Inch Up, Demand Remains Steady and Price Gains Continue in Metro Vancouver’s Housing Market in February

The Metro Vancouver* housing market saw steady home sales activity, modest increases in home listings and continued upward trends in pricing in February.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 3,424 in February 2022, an 8.1 per cent decrease from the 3,727 sales recorded in February 2021, and a 49.8 per cent increase from the 2,285 homes sold in January 2022.

Low Supply Keeps Upward Pressure On Home Prices Across Metro Vancouver’s Housing Market

The first month of 2022 saw home sales come down from last year’s record-setting pace, while low supply continued to cause home prices to edge higher across Metro Vancouver*.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,285 in January 2022, a 4.4 per cent decrease from the 2,389 sales recorded in January 2021, and a 15 per cent decrease from the 2,688 homes sold in December 2021.

Metro Vancouver Home Sales Set A Record In 2021

Metro Vancouver home sales reached an all-time high in 2021 as housing needs remained a top priority for residents in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 43,999 in 2021, a 42.2 per cent increase from the 30,944 sales recorded in 2020, a 73.6 per cent increase from the 25,351 homes sold in 2019, and a four per cent increase over the previous all-time sales record of 42,326 set in 2015.

Home Sales Activity Remains Up, Listings Down Across Metro Vancouver’s Housing Market

As we near the end of 2021, home buyer demand remains well in excess of long-term averages and the supply of homes for sale continues to decline across Metro Vancouver’s* housing market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 3,428 in November 2021, an 11.9 per cent increase from the 3,064 sales recorded in November 2020, and a 1.9 per cent decrease from the 3,494 homes sold in October 2021.
read more→

Getting Lights at Lafarge ready to illuminate Christmas in Coquitlam

It takes dozens of city workers and volunteer more than a week to install tens of thousands of lights for the annual Lights at Lafarge Christmas display in Coquitlam.

Nov 20, 2021 6:52 AM By: Janis Cleugh

Thousands of little lights are going up around Lafarge Lake in anticipation of next weekend’s opening of Lights at Lafarge, an annual display at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam.

This month, city staff from the parks and recreation department as well public works joined employees from Star Illuminations in Port Coquitlam and nearly 1,000 Park Spark volunteers to string up the bulbs, and fabricate and install the holiday pieces for the winter event.

B.C.’s real estate market expected to ‘remain vigorous’ in 2022: BCREA

A new report said real estate sales in B.C. are expected to jump 29 per cent to more than 120,000 units this year, compared with 94,000 in 2020.

Home prices are expected to rise in 2022, but sales will take a dip, according to new data from the BC Real Estate Association.

A BCREA report issued Thursday said sales in B.C. are expected to jump 29 per cent to more than 120,000 units this year, compared with 94,000 in 2020.look towards ending single-family zoning like New Zealand?
read more→